Utilizing social performance patterns to manage and evaluate performance of user

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer program product for improving management and performance of an employee. An indication of a goal sponsored by an owner, such as a manager, is received. After receiving an indication of a user subscribing to the goal sponsored by the owner, communications (e.g., posts) on the social network involving the subscribed user that include a tag designating the goal may be monitored. Upon detecting a completion of the goal by the subscribed user in the monitored communications, a pattern of steps (e.g., “prepare,” “review” and “finish”) to accomplish the goal is determined based on the monitored communications. The pattern may then be used to recommend actions to other users subscribed to the goal concerning accomplishing the goal based on the pattern. Furthermore, the owner may receive indications as to the progress of the user in accomplishing the goal based on the pattern.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to workplace evaluations, andmore particularly to improving management and performance of a userutilizing social performance patterns.

BACKGROUND

In the workplace, an evaluation is a tool employers use to review theperformance of an employee. Usually, the employee's supervisor (andfrequently, a more senior manager) is responsible for evaluating theemployee. A private conference is often scheduled to discuss theevaluation.

The evaluation, which typically occurs once during the year (e.g., endof the year), includes an assessment as to how well the employee isdoing. Sometimes, this may include a scale rating indicating strengthsand weaknesses in key areas (e.g., following instructions, promptness,and ability to get along with others). Often, the supervisor and managerwill discuss the key areas.

The evaluation may also include employee goals that are expected to bemet (or have significant progress made) by a set time, such as the nextevaluation. Sometimes, the employee may voluntarily offer a goal, whileother times it will be set by the employee's boss.

Furthermore, the evaluation may include the sharing of feedback by theworker's fellow employees and supervisors. The employee is given his/herchance to share his/her feelings, concerns and suggestions about theworkplace as well.

Typically, supervisors/managers spend many hours in assessing theemployee, such as time spent gathering feedback about the employee thatwas made during the year by reviewing e-mails, notes and calendarentries pertaining to the employee. As a result of gathering feedbackonce during the year, such as at the end of the year, some of therelevant feedback may not be identified and hence not used in assessingthe employee.

Furthermore, such evaluation processes fail to consider feedback aboutthe employee that was made using social media (e.g., activity stream,profile, wall, microblog). For example, colleagues of the employee mayprovide comments about the employee's work on social media. Neither doessuch evaluation processes attempt to provide managers and employeesguidance and recommended actions in meeting goals throughout the year.

As a result, current evaluation processes lack a means for effectivelyallowing the manager to consider all relevant information, includingemployee feedback from social media sources, in assessing the employeeas well as actively evaluating the employee performance and recommendingactions in accomplishing goals for the employee throughout the year.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for improvingmanagement and performance of an employee comprises receiving anindication of a goal sponsored by an owner, where the goal is a desiredresult that a person, a group or an organization desires to achieve. Themethod further comprises receiving an indication of a first usersubscribing to the goal sponsored by the owner. The method additionallycomprises monitoring communications on a social network involving thefirst user subscribed to the goal that includes a tag designating thegoal. Furthermore, the method comprises detecting a completion of thegoal based on the monitored communications using natural languageprocessing. Additionally, the method comprises determining a pattern ofsteps in accomplishing the goal by using natural language processing onthe monitored communications involving the first user subscribed to thegoal. In addition, the method comprises recommending actions to a seconduser concerning accomplishing the goal based on the pattern of steps,where the second user subscribed to the goal sponsored by the owner.

Other forms of the embodiment of the method described above are in asystem and in a computer program product.

The foregoing has outlined rather generally the features and technicaladvantages of one or more embodiments of the present invention in orderthat the detailed description of the present invention that follows maybe better understood. Additional features and advantages of the presentinvention will be described hereinafter which may form the subject ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a social network system configured in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of a social performanceevaluator configured in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for establishing a social performancepattern to accomplish a goal in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for evaluating the employeeperformance and recommending actions to accomplish the employee's goalusing the social performance pattern in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention comprises a method, system and computer programproduct for improving management and performance of an employee. In oneembodiment of the present invention, an indication of a goal sponsoredby an owner, such as a manager, is received. A “goal,” as used herein,is a desired result that a person or organization desires to achieve.The goal may be for a user, a group or an organization. For example, auser (referred to herein as an “owner”) may create and sponsor a goal(e.g., “achieve master certified widget tuner”), where such a goal maybe stored in a look-up table and associated with a tag (e.g., symbol $).After receiving an indication of a user subscribing to the goalsponsored by the owner, communications (e.g., posts) on the socialnetwork involving the subscribed user that include the tag designatingthe goal may be monitored. Upon detecting a completion of the goal bythe subscribed user in the monitored communications, such as byidentifying certain keywords (e.g., “finish”) in the monitoredcommunications via natural language processing, a pattern (“socialperformance pattern”) of steps (e.g., “prepare,” “review” and “finish”)to accomplish the goal is determined using natural language processingon the monitored communications. The pattern may then be used torecommend actions to other users subscribed to the goal concerningaccomplishing the goal based on the pattern. Furthermore, the owner mayreceive indications as to the progress of the user in accomplishing thegoal based on the pattern. In this manner, these social performancepatterns may be utilized by both the manager and employee to improve themanagement and performance of the user.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known circuits have been shown in block diagram form in order notto obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. For the mostpart, details considering timing considerations and the like have beenomitted inasmuch as such details are not necessary to obtain a completeunderstanding of the present invention and are within the skills ofpersons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

Referring now to the Figures in detail, FIG. 1 illustrates a socialnetwork system 100 configured in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. Referring to FIG. 1, social network system 100includes a community of users using client devices 101A-101C (identifiedas “Client Device A,” “Client Device B,” and “Client Device C,”respectively, in FIG. 1) to be involved in social network system 100.Client devices 101A-101C may collectively or individually be referred toas client devices 101 or client device 101, respectively. Client device101 may be a portable computing unit, a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a smartphone, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a navigationdevice, a game console, a desktop computer system, a workstation, anInternet appliance and the like.

Client devices 101 may participate in a social network by communicating(by wire or wirelessly) over a network 102, which may be, for example, alocal area network, a wide area network, a wireless wide area network, acircuit-switched telephone network, a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) network, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)network, a WiFi network, an IEEE 802.11 standards network, variouscombinations thereof, etc. Other networks, whose descriptions areomitted here for brevity, may also be used in conjunction with system100 of FIG. 1 without departing from the scope of the present invention.

System 100 further includes a social network server 103, which may be aweb server configured to offer a social networking and/or microbloggingservice, enabling users of client devices 101 to send and read otherusers' posts. “Posts,” as used herein, include any one or more of thefollowing: text (e.g., messages, comments, sub-comments and replies),audio, video images, etc. Social network server 103 is connected tonetwork 102 by wire or wirelessly. While FIG. 1 illustrates a singlesocial network server 103, it is noted for clarity that multiple serversmay be used to implement the social networking and/or microbloggingservice.

System 100 further includes what is referred to herein as the “socialperformance evaluator” 104 connected to network 102 by wire orwirelessly. Social performance evaluator 104 is configured to allowmanagers to actively evaluate the employee performance throughout theyear as well as to recommend actions to the employee to accomplish theemployee's goals throughout the year utilizing social media sources asdiscussed further below. In one embodiment, social performance evaluator104 monitors communications (e.g., posts) on a social network concerning“goals” subscribed by users (e.g., users of client devices 101). Thesegoals are created by a user (e.g., user of client device 101) referredto herein as an “owner.” Such goals may be stored in a look-up table,such as in database 105 connected to social performance evaluator 104,where the goals are referenced by a tag used in a communication (e.g.,social media post), such as the symbol “$” in the post. Communicationson a social network involving such goals by a user subscribed to thegoal are monitored by social performance evaluator 104 to determine apattern of steps (also referred to herein as “social performancepatterns”) in accomplishing the goal as well as to determine any delayin accomplishing the goal or a near completion of the goal as well as todetect a different set of steps (different pattern) in accomplishing thegoal as discussed further below. Such analysis may be performed, atleast in part, utilizing natural language processing on the monitoredcommunications. These social performance patterns may be utilized byboth the manager and employee to improve the management and performanceof the user as discussed further below. A description of the hardwareconfiguration of social performance evaluator 104 is provided below inconnection with FIG. 2.

As discussed above, database 105 may store goals and the tags associatedwith those goals. Database 105 may also store patterns associated withachieving such goals as well as store information pertaining to theusers (e.g., users of client devices 101) that subscribe to such goals,such as the stage in accomplishing the goal using the pattern(s)associated with that goal. While the following discusses the goals ashaving a single pattern associated with it, it is noted that each goalmay be associated with multiple patterns. Furthermore, database 105 maystore any rewards (e.g., points) attributed to the subscribed users foraccomplishing subscribed goals.

System 100 is not to be limited in scope to any one particular networkarchitecture. System 100 may include any number of client devices 101,networks 102, social network servers 103, social performance evaluators104 and databases 105. Furthermore, in one embodiment, socialperformance evaluator 104 may be part of client device 101 or socialnetwork server 103.

Referring now to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration ofsocial performance evaluator 104 (FIG. 1), which is representative of ahardware environment for practicing the present invention. Referring toFIG. 2, social performance evaluator 104 has a processor 201 coupled tovarious other components by system bus 202. An operating system 203 runson processor 201 and provides control and coordinates the functions ofthe various components of FIG. 2. An application 204 in accordance withthe principles of the present invention runs in conjunction withoperating system 203 and provides calls to operating system 203 wherethe calls implement the various functions or services to be performed byapplication 204. Application 204 may include, for example, a program forimproving the management and performance of the user utilizing socialperformance patterns as discussed further below in association withFIGS. 3-4.

Referring again to FIG. 2, read-only memory (“ROM”) 205 is coupled tosystem bus 202 and includes a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) thatcontrols certain basic functions of social performance evaluator 104.Random access memory (“RAM”) 206 and disk adapter 207 are also coupledto system bus 202. It should be noted that software components includingoperating system 203 and application 204 may be loaded into RAM 206,which may be social performance evaluator's 104 main memory forexecution. Disk adapter 207 may be an integrated drive electronics(“IDE”) adapter that communicates with a disk unit 208, e.g., diskdrive. It is noted that the program for improving the management andperformance of the user utilizing social performance patterns, asdiscussed further below in association with FIGS. 3-4, may reside indisk unit 208 or in application 204.

Social performance evaluator 104 may further include a communicationsadapter 209 coupled to bus 202. Communications adapter 209 interconnectsbus 202 with an outside network (e.g., network 102 of FIG. 1) therebyallowing social performance evaluator 104 to communicate with clientdevices 101 and social network server 103.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

As stated in the Background section, in the workplace, an evaluation isa tool employers use to review the performance of an employee. Usually,the employee's supervisor (and frequently, a more senior manager) isresponsible for evaluating the employee. A private conference is oftenscheduled to discuss the evaluation. The evaluation, which typicallyoccurs once during the year (e.g., end of the year), includes anassessment as to how well the employee is doing. Sometimes, this mayinclude a scale rating indicating strengths and weaknesses in key areas(e.g., following instructions, promptness, and ability to get along withothers). Often, the supervisor and manager will discuss the key areas.The evaluation may also include employee goals that are expected to bemet (or have significant progress made) by a set time, such as the nextevaluation. Sometimes, the employee may voluntarily offer a goal, whileother times it will be set by the employee's boss. Furthermore, theevaluation may include the sharing of feedback by the worker's fellowemployees and supervisors. The employee is given his/her chance to sharehis/her feelings, concerns and suggestions about the workplace as well.Typically, supervisors/managers spend many hours in assessing theemployee, such as time spent gathering feedback about the employee thatwas made during the year by reviewing e-mails, notes and calendarentries pertaining to the employee. As a result of gathering feedbackonce during the year, such as at the end of the year, some of therelevant feedback may not be identified and hence not used in assessingthe employee. Furthermore, such evaluation processes fail to considerfeedback about the employee that was made using social media (e.g.,activity stream, profile, wall, microblog). For example, colleagues ofthe employee may provide comments about the employee's work on socialmedia. Neither does such evaluation processes attempt to providemanagers and employees guidance and recommended actions in meeting goalsthroughout the year. As a result, current evaluation processes lack ameans for effectively allowing the manager to consider all relevantinformation, including employee feedback from social media sources, inassessing the employee as well as actively evaluating the employeeperformance and recommending actions in accomplishing goals for theemployee throughout the year.

The principles of the present invention provide a means for activelyevaluating the employee performance and recommending actions inaccomplishing goals for the employee throughout the year utilizingsocial performance patterns as discussed below in association with FIGS.3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for establishing a socialperformance pattern to accomplish a goal. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of amethod for evaluating the employee performance and recommending actionsto accomplish the employee's goal using the social performance pattern.

As stated above, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method 300 for establishinga social performance pattern to accomplish a goal in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-2, in step 301, socialperformance evaluator 104 receives an indication of a goal sponsored byan owner, such as a manager (e.g., user of client device 101A). A“goal,” as used herein, is a desired result that a person ororganization desires to achieve. The goal may be for a user, a group oran organization. For example, a user (e.g., user of client device 101A)may create and sponsor a goal (e.g., “achieve master certified widgettuner”). Such a goal may be stored in a look-up table, such as indatabase 105, where the goals are associated with a tag (e.g., symbol$). Such goals can be looked-up in the table using the tag. Furthermore,communications involving the goal, such as posts on a social network,can be monitored by identifying communications using the tag.

In step 302, social performance evaluator 104 receives an indication ofa user (e.g., user of client device 101B) subscribing to the goalsponsored by the owner.

In step 303, social performance evaluator 104 monitors thecommunications (e.g., posts) on a social network involving thesubscribed user (e.g., user of client device 101B) that include the tagdesignating the goal. For example, suppose that Alice (e.g., user ofclient device 101A) creates and sponsors a goal (“achieve mastercertified widget tuner”) with a designated tag (e.g., symbol “$”).Suppose that Bob (e.g., user of client device 101B) subscribes to thegoal which may be referenced in communications, such as “$certified-wt.”Social performance evaluator 104 may then monitor communications on thesocial network involving Bob that include the tag designating the goal.For instance, the following communications may be identified by socialperformance evaluator 104 based on monitoring the communications on thesocial network involving Bob that include the tag designating the goal:

-   -   Bob posts “preparing for $certified-wt”    -   Charlie posts “preparing with @Bob for $certified-wt”    -   Bob posts “@Doug reviewing $certified-wt”    -   Doug posts “Congrats @Bob on finishing $certified-wt”        These posts each include a reference to the subscribed user        (e.g., Bob) as well as to the subscribed goal (e.g.,        “$certified-wt”).

In step 304, social performance evaluator 104 detects a completion ofthe goal by the subscribed user based on the monitored communications.For example, social performance evaluator 104 may utilize naturallanguage processing in detecting the completion of the goal. Forinstance, natural language processing may be used to detect thecompletion of the goal by identifying certain keywords, such as“finish,” “finishing,” and “completion,” used in the monitoredcommunications concerning the goal and the subscribed user. For example,social performance evaluator 104 may detect a completion of the goal bythe subscribed user of Bob based on the post of “Congrats @Bob onfinishing $certified-wt” since the term “finishing” was used inconnection with the goal and the subscribed user.

In step 305, social performance evaluator 104 determines a pattern ofsteps (“social performance pattern”) to accomplish the goal by usingnatural language processing on the monitored communications. Forexample, referring to the posts discussed in step 303, socialperformance evaluator 104 may determine that the sequence in achievingthe goal includes at least “prepare,” “review,” and “finish” based onthe terms “preparing,” “reviewing” and “finishing” being used in theposts. Social performance evaluator 104 may also include steps in thesocial performance pattern to accomplish the goal that were not directlyderived from language used in the monitored communications. Forinstance, Bob and his manager may assess that the goal was completedsuccessfully and that Bob should receive a positive score (e.g., +2points), which may be recorded by social performance 104, such as indatabase 105. In another example, Bob's manager may post “Congrats @Bobfor successfully completing $certified-wt” where social performanceevaluator 104 detects the successful completion of the goal based onidentifying the term “successfully” using natural language processing.As a result, social performance evaluator 104 may determine that thesocial performance pattern in accomplishing the goal is “prepare,”“review,” “finish” and “success.”

In step 306, social performance evaluator 104 evaluates theeffectiveness of the pattern to accomplish the goal by other subscribedusers (e.g., user of client device 101C). The effectiveness of thesocial performance pattern may be based on the success or failure inachieving the goal using the pattern, the length of time in achievingthe goal, social media comments (e.g., likes) pertaining to the pattern,the profit or revenue generated from achieving the goal, etc. In oneembodiment, the effectiveness of the pattern may be evaluated, at leastin part, utilizing natural language processing. For example, socialperformance evaluator 104 may determine the success or failure inachieving the goal using the associated pattern based on the keywords“success” or “failure” used in connection with completing the goal. Inanother example, social performance evaluator 104 may determine theprofit or revenue generated from achieving the goal based on keywordsdirected to profit, revenue, etc. used in the monitored communicationsin connection with the successful completion of the goal. In oneembodiment, social performance evaluator 104 may utilize a timer, suchas implemented in software, to determine a length of time in achievingthe goal from the time that the goal was sponsored by the owner to thetime that the goal was achieved by the subscribed user. In oneembodiment, social performance evaluator 104 may count the number oflikes pertaining to the pattern over a designated period of time whichmay be used to assess the effectiveness of the pattern to accomplish thegoal.

In step 307, social performance evaluator 104 presents the evaluatedeffectiveness of the pattern to the owner. In one embodiment, such anevaluation may be used by the owner (e.g., manager) to determine whetherthe steps of the pattern should be modified to better assist the user(e.g., employee) to accomplish the goal or whether the pattern should bereplaced with a better pattern.

The pattern established using method 300 may be used to evaluate theemployee performance and recommend actions to accomplish the employee'sgoal as discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for evaluating the employeeperformance and recommending actions to accomplish the employee's goalusing the social performance pattern in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, in conjunction with FIGS. 1-3, in step 401, socialperformance evaluator 104 receives an indication of a user (e.g., userof client device 101C) subscribing to the goal sponsored by the owner,such as discussed in step 302 of method 300.

In step 402, social performance evaluator 104 monitors thecommunications (e.g., posts) on a social network involving thesubscribed user (e.g., user of client device 101C) that include the tagdesignating the goal, such as discussed in step 303 of method 300.

In step 403, a determination is made by social performance evaluator 104as to whether a delay is detected in accomplishing the goal by thesubscribed user using the pattern associated with the goal. For example,the following communications may be identified by social performanceevaluator 104 based on monitoring the communications on the socialnetwork involving Eve (e.g., user of client device 101C) that includethe tag designating the goal:

-   -   Eve posts “preparing for $certified-wt with @Bob”

Using the pattern discussed above, the next step in accomplishing thegoal should be the review step. However, if there are no furthercommunications (such as after a designated period of time) detected bysocial performance evaluator 104 concerning Eve accomplishing the goal,such as a review step, then social performance evaluator 104 may detectthat there has been a delay in accomplishing the goal by the subscribeduser.

If social performance evaluator 104 detected a delay in accomplishingthe goal by the subscribed user using the pattern associated with thegoal, then, in step 404, social performance evaluator 104 recommendsactions to the subscribed user to accomplish the goal using the pattern,such as suggesting to the subscribed user to move forward with a review.For instance, referring to the above example, social performanceevaluator 104 may post a message on the social network to Eve to moveforward with a review concerning the goal (e.g., “missing pending reviewfor $certified-wt”). Next steps in accomplishing the goal may beextracted from the pattern associated with the goal. It is noted thatmultiple social performance patterns may be associated with the goal andthat the next step recommended/suggested for the subscribed user may bebased on the pattern with the highest rating (i.e., with the bestevaluation as discussed in step 306 of method 300). In one embodiment,the recommended actions may be personalized, such as to the user's jobrole or current business needs. In one embodiment, only successfulpatterns may be utilized for recommending actions to the subscribeduser. Those patterns that were deemed to be unsuccessful are identifiedand alerted to the owners as discussed in step 307 of method 300.

In step 405, social performance evaluator 104 informs the owner (e.g.,manager) to motivate the subscribed user to accomplish the goal, such asby posting a message on the social network encouraging the subscribeduser to continue to achieve the goal. After informing the owner tomotivate the subscribed user to accomplish the goal, social performanceevaluator 104 continues to monitor communications (e.g., posts) on thesocial network involving the subscribed user (e.g., user of clientdevice 101C) that include the tag designating the goal in step 402.

If, however, social performance evaluator 104 did not detect a delay inaccomplishing the goal by the subscribed user, then, in step 406, adetermination is made by social performance evaluator 104 as to whethera near completion of the goal by the subscribed user is detected, suchas completing all but the last steps according to the pattern associatedwith the goal.

If social performance evaluator 104 detected a near completion of thegoal by the subscribed user, then, in step 407, social performanceevaluator 104 recommends actions to the subscribed user to complete thegoal using the pattern, such as suggesting to the subscribed user tocomplete the goal. For instance, referring to the above example, socialperformance evaluator 104 may post a message on the social network toEve to complete the goal (e.g., “almost finished $certified-wt”). In oneembodiment, social performance evaluator 104 may also suggest a mentoror provide assistance to the subscribe user to complete the goal, suchas suggesting other users who have accomplished the same goal(information of other users completing the same goal obtained fromdatabase 105).

In step 408, social performance evaluator 104 informs the owner toencourage the subscribed user to complete the goal, such as via amessage posted on the social network. Once the owner is informed thatthe subscribed user has almost completed the goal, the owner mayencourage the subscribed user to complete the goal. For example, theowner may post a message on the social network to the subscribed user toencourage the subscribed user to complete the goal (e.g., “you havealmost finished $certified-wt, you can do it!”).

After informing the owner that the subscribed user has almost completedthe goal, social performance evaluator 104 continues to monitorcommunications (e.g., posts) on the social network involving thesubscribed user (e.g., user of client device 101C) that include the tagdesignating the goal in step 402.

If, however, social performance evaluator 104 did not detect a nearcompletion of the goal by the subscribed user, then, in step 409, adetermination is made by social performance evaluator 104 as to whethera completion of the goal by the subscribed user is detected. Asdiscussed above, social performance evaluator 104 may utilize naturallanguage processing in determining whether the subscribed user completedthe goal, such as by identifying keywords (e.g., “finish”) in themessages monitored by social performance evaluator 104 concerning thesubscribed user attempting to achieve the goal.

If social performance evaluator 104 did not detect the completion of thegoal by the subscribed user, then social performance evaluator 104continues to monitor the communications (e.g., posts) on the socialnetwork involving the subscribed user (e.g., user of client device 101C)that include the tag designating the goal in step 402.

If, however, the completion of the goal by the subscribed user isdetected, then, in step 410, a determination is made by socialperformance evaluator 104 as to whether different steps were detectedthat were used to accomplish the goal by the subscribed user incomparison to the steps of the pattern in question.

If different steps were used to accomplish the goal by the subscribeduser in comparison to the steps of the pattern in question, then, instep 411, social performance evaluator 104 informs the owner regarding anew pattern of steps to complete the goal. For example, suppose thatsocial performance evaluator 104 detects the following post pattern:

-   -   “preparing with @Bob for $certified-wt”    -   “drafting application for $certified-wt”    -   “review of $certified-wt with @Dave”    -   “finished with $certified-wt”

Hence, in this example, the step of “drafting” is a new additional stepin comparison to the pattern steps of “prepare,” “review” and “finish.”As a result, the owner (e.g., manager) may be informed of this newpattern which may be evaluated for effectiveness as discussed above inconnection with step 306 of method 300. After receiving an indicationthat the subscribed user achieved the goal with a new pattern, the ownermay reward the user, such as via points.

If, however, different steps were not used to accomplish the goal by thesubscribed user in comparison to the steps of the pattern in question,then, in step 412, social performance evaluator 104 informs the ownerregarding the subscribed user achieving the goal using the patternthereby further providing evidence as to the effectiveness of thepattern. After receiving an indication that the subscribed user achievedthe goal, the owner may reward the user, such as via points.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for improving management andperformance of an employee, the method comprising: receiving, by asocial performance evaluator, an indication of a goal sponsored by anowner, wherein said goal is a desired result that a person, a group oran organization desires to achieve, wherein said owner is a user of afirst client device connected to said social performance evaluator via anetwork; receiving, by said social performance evaluator, an indicationof a first user of a second client device connected to said networksubscribing to said goal sponsored by said owner; monitoring, by saidsocial performance evaluator, communications on a social networkinvolving said first user subscribed to said goal that includes a tagdesignating said goal; detecting, by said social performance evaluator,a completion of said goal based on said monitored communications usingnatural language processing; determining, by said social performanceevaluator, a pattern of steps in accomplishing said goal by usingnatural language processing on said monitored communications involvingsaid first user subscribed to said goal; evaluating, by said socialperformance evaluator, an effectiveness of said pattern to accomplishsaid goal by other subscribed users, wherein said effectiveness of saidpattern is based on a success or a failure in achieving said goal usingsaid pattern, a length of time in achieving said goal, social mediacomments pertaining to said pattern, and a profit or revenue generatedfrom achieving said goal, wherein said social performance evaluatorutilizes a timer to determine said length of time in achieving said goalfrom a time said goal was sponsored by said owner to a time said goalwas achieved by a subscribed user; and recommending, by said socialperformance evaluator, actions to a second user of a third client deviceconnected to said network concerning accomplishing said goal based onsaid pattern of steps, wherein said second user subscribed to said goalsponsored by said owner.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid effectiveness of said pattern is evaluated utilizing naturallanguage processing.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1 furthercomprising: presenting said evaluated effectiveness of said pattern tosaid owner to determine whether steps of said pattern should be modifiedto better assist users to accomplish said goal or whether said patternshould be replaced with a better pattern.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1 further comprising: monitoring communications on said socialnetwork involving said second user that includes said tag designatingsaid goal; and detecting a delay in completing said goal by said seconduser.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4 further comprising: informingsaid owner to motivate said second user to accomplish said goal inresponse to detecting said delay in completing said goal by said seconduser.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising: monitoringcommunications on said social network involving said second user thatinclude said tag designating said goal; and detecting a near completionof said goal by said second user.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6further comprising: recommending said owner to encourage said seconduser to complete said goal in response to detecting said near completionof said goal by said second user.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1further comprising: monitoring communications on said social networkinvolving a third user subscribed to said goal sponsored by said ownerthat includes said tag designating said goal; detecting a completion ofsaid goal by said third user; and detecting a new pattern of steps tocomplete said goal based on said monitored communications involving saidthird user.
 9. The method as recited in claim 8 further comprising:informing said owner regarding said new pattern of steps to completesaid goal.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said goal isstored in a look-up table where said goal is associated with said tag.